New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is perpetually on target but never satisfied

Scott Threlkeld/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is picking up where he left off last season, when he was selected the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year.

It's going to get harder for New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. He doesn't doubt that for a second.

"I could be happier (with my play)," he said. "I just think there are constantly areas where you can become more efficient. There's things that have happened in these last three preseason games that, in a tight game, we made a mistake that could potentially get us beat.

"So you want to get rid of those things. You want to be as sharp as you can because you understand that tougher games are ahead."

So if he actually does have a sharper image to offer, well, that really is going to be something to see. Because it's clear right now that he seems to be at peak efficiency regardless of the time of year, situation or circumstances.

Only three of his passes fell incomplete Saturday against Oakland. Granted, the current Raiders are a pitiful representation for the storied franchise, more deserving of a Band-Aid over the forehead than a patch over the eye. But 14-of-17 for 179 yards and two touchdowns is tough to accomplish in seven-on-seven drills with no pass rush.

Add that to the shredding of Houston (9-of 14 for 87 yards) and Cincinnati (6-of-9 for 88 yards and a touchdown) and pooh-pooh the competition and stakes all you want -- but the guy has been awfully good.

Again, the margin can and should be taken with a grain of salt. The Raiders looked like a team that has quit before the regular season has begun. The hope that fuels immense expectations for every NFL team seems to have disappeared in the Black Hole, which now is more renowned for the fans it produces than for the football team that plays inside.

But the guy still has to do the work, still has to throw the pass to the right guy at the right time and make the coverage appear nonexistent.

"We want to look sharp in the preseason, especially once the third preseason game rolls around," Brees said. "That's as close to the first game you can get as far as preparation and the amount of playing time for the first team.

"We're happy we came away with the win. Obviously, we scored a lot of points -- that first group, three possessions and three touchdowns. But it definitely is going to get tougher, and there are definitely areas where we can improve."

Now, here, the guy starts to quibble.

Probably, that's out of necessity because there simply aren't large deficiencies in his game.

"I feel good," he said. "There are areas where I feel like I can continue to improve, even if it's just making that decision a split second faster or, 'Hey, I threw it to the guy and he caught it, but the ball location wasn't quite exactly where I wanted it to be.' (There's) always room for improvement."

And a player doesn't approach greatness without working on his weaknesses, however trivial. He doesn't fly to the top of the game -- and you wouldn't take a quarterback not named Peyton Manning or Tom Brady ahead of Brees -- unless he magnifies the minutiae.

He doesn't become who he is unless he torches every opponent every chance he gets, even in exhibition games, even against less-than-formidable defenses.

The truth is, it'd be nice if the Saints simply could skip Thursday's practice session against Miami at the Superdome. Surely, for the paying customer who wants to see Brees, not much is going to be offered.

But the maestro doesn't mind participating in one more dress rehearsal.

"I think it's necessary at this stage, just to continue to get some of these young guys some reps," he said. "This game, typically, they get the most reps out of any game. We still have some guys we're trying to evaluate, still some guys that are fighting for roster spots. So it's necessary."

Not for him, though.

Even when it gets tougher, and the games begin to count and the defenses aren't so vanilla, it might not be so much tougher for him. Not for a guy who seemed to do little wrong last season and appears ready to do less wrong this one.